Outlandish Mixtape Volume 1 Official Review “Award for Most Promising Underground Male Artist Hip Hop/Rap 2006†“5 headphone award"
By: Akil El-Amin “Da mixtapes biggest critic†Upcoming Rappers Magazine September 2006 (Issue 24)"
I already knew the word outlandish meant very peculiar, extremely unusual or bizarre, so before I began to review Young Degree’s first official mixtape I didn’t know what to expect. I assumed that this was another generic mixtape from but another wannabe rapper. As I played the Intro I was blown away by the quality of the mixtape, I thought to myself, “this is peculiarâ€, Mixtapes normally don’t sound this clear. From start to finish the cd plays way out of the realm of just any mixtape. Outlandish, is a production that journey’s through the life of Young Degree, introduces his company 900 Miles Entertainment and ends with a 12 minute non-stop segment that debuts, 900 Miles Internet Radio and the new single “Honk Yah Horn.†.
This “Unusual†Mixtape showcases Young Degree’s songwriting skills with 8 (done over) records that Degree swiped from some of the industries hottest rap artists. While flowing like a veteran with many catch phrases and punch lines that will have you rewinding, Young Degree delivers each record to the listeners as if it was his own. As I listened to “Shot 2 o’clock,†(Which is performed to T.I.’s, “Why you wannaâ€) I realized why so many people are calling Degree one of the hottest underground artists of the east coast. He is a incredible songwriter who I later found out attributes his success to studying under a few grammy nominated writers and producers."
During a recent telephone interview I asked Young Degree what I would expect before I played the mixtape, He replied “Expect it is indeed outlandish.†Young Degree, also know as “The Baddest Kid On The Planet†was raised in the cities of Newark and East Orange and he did not neglect to inform me he’s a proud New Jersey native. The swagger Degree displayed on some of these songs also had me convinced that he has survived many up’s and downs of the music business, loves to please the ladies, and is musically capable of competing wit today’s hottest rappers."
After reviewing the mixtape I find it “Bizarre,†Young Degree is not signed with a major record label. He can easily be viewed as one of the next hottest rappers of our time. I played outlandish a few more times before requesting a copy, Now I play it almost everyday, primarily listening to the freestyle segment in which Degree says “Like Comcast, I’m on demand and outlandish I’ll show Nick da mutha f#%@%!*^ cannons.†I asked Degree if he had beef with the actor, Degree replied “I don’t have beef wit anyone, Outlandish is sprinkled with many lines that may refer to a certain artist or group of people, it doesen’t mean Iv’e got beef, it means this is my first mixtape and I have to catch people’s attention, At the end on the day, this is the music & entertainment business, I have to give people something to talk about."
To Listen to Outlandish log Onto:
www.900miles.com/outlandishmixtape
For Promotional Use Only-Not For Sale.
